The Union Cabinet on Thursday lowered the age limit from 65 to 60 years for a monthly pension of Rs 200 to old persons living below poverty line (BPL) under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. It raised the amount to Rs 500 for those above 80.

The decision will add 72.32 lakh persons to 1.69 crore persons already getting the central pension under the scheme. The higher pension of Rs 500 a month will benefit an estimated 26.49 lakhs, officials said. The cost of the exchequer will go up by Rs 2,770 crores.

The Cabinet also extended the medical insurance cover of Rs 30,000 to families of the Bidi workers spread over 16 states under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) to enable them cashless benefit in the empanelled hospitals across the country.

Officials said any claims beyond Rs 30,000 will be reimbursed directly by the related Welfare Commissioner to the concerned hospitals through the existing procedure. At present, there are only seven hospitals and 204 dispensaries that cater to the health needs of the Bidi workers.

Ten lakh Bidi workers are proposed to be brought under the scheme this financial year and remaining 45 lakhs by 2013-14. The government will pay annual premium of Rs 750 for a family which includes 25 per cent share of the state governments. It will cost the centre Rs 311.25 crores towards premium and the small cards.

Explaining purport of the scheme, the officials said a Bidi worker is not in a position to spend money from his own pocket initially and get the reimbursement. As such, the existing health schemes do not serve the very purpose of proper health care. Also, since majority of the Bidi workers do not fall under the BPL category, they are deprived of the benefits of RSBY, presently implemented for BPL category only.

The scheme is an addition to several welfare measures initiated by the government for the Bidi workers under the Bidi Workers Welfare Fund to provide their health care, housing, educational and social security benefits.

The Bidi industry is primarily a home-based labour intensive industry spread of 16 states -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Triupra and West Bengal.